Avon & Somerset Police expand anti knife crime campaign
New weapon surrender bins have been installed in Bristol, with plans for more
A campaign to tackle knife crime across the West Country is being expanded with new weapon surrender bins in Bristol.
Avon and Somerset Police have installed two in public, one in Castle Park and one outside The Park Centre in Knowle, in the hope it will encourage more people carrying a knife to ditch them.
The bins have been installed in both locations after specific requests from the community, following feedback that pre-existing bins at police stations or local authority buildings are not so inviting.
Chief Inspector Mike Vass, Avon and Somerset Police’s Lead for knife crime said, “We want to do everything we can to encourage people to safely discard of any weapons or knives they may be carrying so we can prevent street-based knife crime.
"Knife crime ruins lives. We want to spread the message that it is not ‘normal’ or safe to be carrying a knife.
"These new weapon surrender bins, in areas we know they are needed, offer people a safe and anonymous way of getting rid of a weapon.
"Please, if you know someone who carries a weapon, we ask you to encourage them to surrender it.”
Thirteen surrender bins have existed across the force area since 2016, with more than 4,000 knives or weapons surrendered over the past seven years.
The current data does suggest a drop in offences with 22 per cent fewer knife crime incidents in 2022 compared to 2021.
However, possession offences increased by 4.2 per cent.
Anti knife crime campaigner Leanne Reynolds said: "It might not be knife crime itself leading to severe incidents but young people definitely carrying bladed articles has increased.
"I feel as up and down the country, it's getting worse and I would just like to see a change and give young people opportunity to put that blade down.
"This is the start of something that will continue within our communities."
Leanne believes the surrender bins can be a success.
"In police stations you're under surveillance and they (people carrying knives) don't feel you're anonymous 100 per cent," she said.
"In communities you've got 24 hours a day to come here and place an article in that bin.
"You're not watched, there is 100 per cent anonymity, no one will know it's you and I feel it will work better."
One woman walking past, who said she lives in Barcelona, said she had never seen such an initiative before.
"I lived in Barcelona for 17 years and there's quite a bit of violence as well, but I've never seen it (the bins) before," she said.
She added that she herself has been a victim of knife crime several times.
"Two or three times (I) was threatened with a knife," she said.
"One was really bad, was right in the centre...bars were closing, I was opening the lock on my bike and six guys, I think they were like 21, just started hitting me.
"After a while I said 'just take my bag and leave me alone'...my nose was broken, (I had) two black eyes...
"I actually felt sorry for them because they were maybe 20, 21 and I thought, 'how sad is that, to go through life like that.'"
"Don't carry knives in a public place," chief inspector Vass said.
"That's my message to everybody."
Avon and Somerset Police are planning to install more bins across the force area in the near future.
You can read more about their work to tackle knife crime here.